ADIPEC 2004 to feature 1,209 exhibitors from 54 countries

Over 2,500 conference delegates and 22,000 visitors are expected at the 4 day event.

ADIPEC 2004 will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Supreme Petroleum Council. The event will be inaugurated by His Highness Lt. General Staff Pilot Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, and Chairman of the General Exhibitions Corporation (GEC).

The 2004 event, the 11th in the bi-annual series, since it was first held 20 years ago, marks an important milestone in the evolution of ADIPEC. Over the last two decades, ADIPEC has emerged as a globally acknowledged platform for decision makers and professionals from the oil and gas industry to familiarise themselves with the latest developments in the industry.

The exhibitor list at ADIPEC 2004 reads like a "who's who" of the industry and includes oil producers, oil and gas services companies and leading international manufacturers of products, services and technology providers to the industry. National companies from the region such as; ADNOC, Saudi Aramco, Qatar Petroleum, Petroleum Development Oman, Kuwait Petroleum and Sonatrach, as well as oil majors such as; BP, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Shell, TOTAL, Baker Hughes and JOGMEC and, leading product, technology and service providers to the oil and gas industry are brought together on a single platform and this can be witnessed only at ADIPEC.

"ADIPEC 2004 has witnessed significant growth from the previous edition held in 2002. The total gross area occupied by exhibitors has gone up from 21,000 m² to 30,000 m². The total number of exhibitors has increased from 935 in 2002 to 1,209 this time around. The countries represented at ADIPEC have gone up to 54 from 48. The number of visitors is expected to go up to 22,000, as compared to 20,535 in 2002. The numbers of conference delegates are over 2,500, as compared to 2,123, the last time around. We have 11 national pavilions as against the 8 that we had in 2002" said Mr. Ahmad Humaid Al Mazrouie, Director General, General Exhibitions Corporation speaking at the pre-show press conference for ADIPEC 2004.

"ADIPEC 2004 has been promoted aggressively, worldwide. Over 150,000 personal mail invitations, as well as more than a 200,000 electronic mail invitations have been sent. An extensive advertising campaign across the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Yemen, Iran and Iraq has been undertaken. We expect over 22,000 trade visitors at this year's show. The Ministry of Petroleum has extended invitations to 16 countries, and official delegations comprising of ministers and senior officials from the oil and gas industry from around the region are expected to attend" added Mr. Al Mazrouie.

Commenting on the new additions at this year's ADIPEC, Mr. Al Mazrouie said, "This year's ADIPEC has several new introductions like the ADIPEC Golf Day and Geological Field Trips for conference delegates. The Oil Career Fair, which is an international recruitment initiative during the world's most prominent oil and gas conferences and exhibitions, will also feature at ADIPEC 2004 for the first time in an oil and gas show in the region".

Mr. Al Mazrouie also added that with the third largest known reserves of crude oil and the fourth largest reserves of gas in the world, it was no surprise that Abu Dhabi ranks as one of the most important sites in the global oil and gas industry. He said that; "With ADIPEC 2004, GEC is creating an open environment to discuss global challenges faced by the industry in the heart of the oil and gas industry and with the success of recent event and expected success of ADIPEC, we inch towards our goal in making Abu Dhabi the preferred exhibition, conference and tourist destination in the Middle East".

Mr. Saeed Khoory, Conference Chairman, ADIPEC 2004 and AGM (Tech.) Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations said "The main theme for the scientific conference at ADIPEC 2004 will be 'Managing Resources & Opportunities in a Maturing Oil & Gas Industry' and the conference would feature prominent speakers, researchers and experts from around the world".

"To give the conference as much diversity as possible in its coverage of technical topics, the technical committee decided on 14 technical categories and several sub-categories covering all the major activities of the oil & gas industry, all the way from E&P (Upstream) sector down to refining and marketing (Downstream) sector" added Mr. Khoory.

138 papers have been selected for presentation at the conference. A further 22 abstracts that could not be accommodated in the conference sessions have also been given an opportunity to participate in the poster sessions that will be organised

Mr. Al Mazrouie ended his address by thanking His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE, and His Brothers and Members of the Supreme Council, Rulers of the Emirates. They also expressed their thanks to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Chairman of the Supreme Petroleum Council and Patron of ADIPEC 2004, as well as His Highness Lt. General Staff Pilot Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman, General Exhibitions Corporation. He also acknowledged the Board of Directors at GEC, all ADIPEC 2004 exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, sponsors, the technical committee, as well as the ADIPEC 2004 team at GEC that had worked so hard to ensure the success of this exhibition and conference.